Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 794 Interlude: The Battle of the Heavenly Steel Ship
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Ten thousand years later, in the Calissis Sector, aboard the Destiny Steel
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"The comment 'True Fenris profanity' is brilliant! This kind of 'profanity' is something I could never have imagined even if I racked my brains!"

Lehman Ruth added, “If it weren’t for this pool where I could see it, and the fact that I witnessed Horus entering the crown and then into this psychic’s body—otherwise, even if you told me the whole thing yourself, I would have doubted whether you’d lost your mind! This [Fenris profanity] is more outrageous and bizarre than anything I’ve ever heard!”

“I agree with you on that point. Because a recent rapid growth curve from a long-term client shows the same view, but well… apparently maintaining the cosmic membrane in that fragment for that instant without breaking it made him spit all that growth back, which is good, the balance hasn’t been broken.”

Magna Dorn sat on his mechanical link throne and nodded, the glowing dots of the various data cables flickering like the breath of fireflies with his movements.

Ruth had obviously automatically filtered out everything after his first sentence; the wolf king was always quite at ease being deaf when he needed to be.

“But let’s not use the word ‘evil’,” Magna said formally. “If this is considered evil, then you, me, Him, and everything here are evil.”

"Fine. Tch! Witchcraft stuff! Warp stuff! Tch!"

Ruth spat on the floor, which in Fenris tradition signifies the exorcism of evil spirits—clearly, the Wolf King was giving his little brother some face, but not much.

“Speaking of which,” Magna said, “have you made contact with that Astartes warship that drifted ashore and was salvaged and towed into port?”

"Me?" Ruth pointed at himself. "What am I supposed to do? Go and scare them to death?"

“It was strange that they entered the port. Even though they had lost most of their power and the ship was almost sinking, they didn’t come forward to negotiate much. The food and water supplies that our dockworkers brought were taken away, but they didn’t seem to apply for additional repairs or ammunition.”

"That's strange? Didn't they send anyone up to search? The Kadia auxiliary troops here are very experienced."

“That’s an Astartes ship. Well, considering the keel code shows whose ship it is, and their current silent self-isolation, in my experience, I don’t think… my logic tells me that sending mortals directly up there is not a logical choice.”

Wolf Dynasty's brother, who is now just as adept at debating others as his offspring, rolled his eyes. "With such an obvious problem, sending me is the logical choice?"

“You are a Primarch, and an uninjured, young, and vigorous Primarch who eats and drinks his fill every day.”

"...I'm a wolf, not a cow or a horse!" Ruth jumped up. "Even though what you said is true, Pallas and I take turns fighting greenskins, and on the side, we also have to take down some random pointy-eared guys. I even have to kill some weird mutant insectoids while I'm eating! You say I'm full and satisfied, but why don't you say I don't have time to sleep?!"

"Can't you spare some of the time you spend eating, drinking, and having banquets for sleeping?"

“That won’t do,” Ruth immediately refused. “I can’t even return to my lair. What’s the point of living if I can’t eat, drink, and have a feast?”

"Do you remember when I told you that because of the increasing number of Primarchs on the Ironblood, the Armory is working overtime and can now provide Peturabo and his men with spare Phantom Camouflage equipment?"

Magna patiently explained, “Right now, almost all of the Astartes forces in Wandering Harbor are on the front lines fighting the Orcs. It would be best to have some additional Astartes units, but we don’t have any spare people to do that. What I need least right now is to see us fight another civil war if we can’t persuade them to join us, or worse, fight a civil war and then they send out messages that there are rebels here.”

He sighed dramatically, rubbing his nonexistent brow furrows, "Due to the orcs disrupting the hydroponic farms and other infrastructure, our logistics, while still manageable, are under immense pressure. We also lack the vast rear areas the Empire has for strategic retreat or temporary requisitioning." "Although our control over the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Fist, and the Black Templars in this area is quite considerable, and the Empire's response time is... well, overall, even a weakened giant is still formidable, especially with Ramizan and Perturabo not here. I don't want to attract more attention or be forced to fight on two fronts at this moment. Without them in command, we can only employ very limited tactics. So someone needs to resolve this quickly. I told you to go once the armory has adjusted its camouflage to match your identification features, and you agreed."

Ruth had a sleepwalking look in her eyes. "Did you tell me that? Did I promise you?"

"Said."

"When?!"

“I told you when you switched shifts with Pallas and came back for dinner. You had just come out of the shower room and changed out of your power armor. You even nodded after hearing it.”

The wolf king wore an expression of deep thought and racking his brains, then suddenly realized something.

"I don't think you should have brought this up with me after my shower and before dinner. I tend to forget about it while I'm eating. Okay, I remember now, you did mention it, so it's not impossible... You see, some of my wolf cubs were left to guard the Ironblood because of their appearance, and they're really frustrated! So, could this camouflage pattern be modified for use with the Astartes..."

“No. The Astartes’ physical condition and energy levels do not allow it technically. And, saying that it can be provided does not mean ‘you can squander it.’”

Magna said, "So are you going or not?"

What would happen if I didn't go?

“It’s fine if he doesn’t go. Then I’ll just have to send our apothecary. And you, you’ll be in charge of taking his place on the continuous patrols from the Wandering Harbor front, Carrick, Pearl Moon and Bellacarn routes.”

"Wait a minute, isn't this the job originally assigned to the pharmacist Hong Suo? Isn't he the pharmacist here? And in this situation, shouldn't he be on the front lines saving his brothers' lives and collecting gene seeds? Isn't that what a pharmacist is supposed to do?"

"Of course he saved people, and he kept traveling to try to take care of everyone."

Magna's metallic face revealed a strange smile. If Macado were here, he would definitely recognize it as a typical bureaucratic fake smile, but it was quite terrifying when it appeared on Dorn's face. Fortunately, it was Ruth opposite him.

"But do you remember what I told you?"

"what?"

“We don’t have enough manpower, while Hunso,” Magna said, “the individual defensive strength that Peturabo and his men left him is enough to hold out until reinforcements are mobilized or medical treatment is completed for the entire position.”

"What you're saying makes me think that our greatest asset is actually..."

“So,” Magna interrupted him, speaking slowly, “are you going to do it or not?”

(End of this chapter)